Otter Tail County, Minnesota
County
The Otter Tail County Courthouse in Fergus Falls
Location within the U.S. state of Minnesota
Coordinates: 46°24′21″N 95°42′52″W / 46.405727°N 95.714581°W / 46.405727; -95.714581
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
Founded	March 18, 1858 (created) September 12, 1868 (organized)
Named after	Otter Tail Lake and Otter Tail River
Seat	Fergus Falls
Largest city	Fergus Falls
Area
• Total	2,224.328 sq mi (5,760.98 km2)
• Land	1,971.635 sq mi (5,106.51 km2)
• Water	252.693 sq mi (654.47 km2)  11.36%
Population  (2020)
• Total	60,081
• Estimate  (2024)	60,884
• Density	30.873/sq mi (11.920/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Area code	218
Congressional district	7th
Website	ottertailcounty.gov

Otter Tail County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 60,081,^[1] and it was estimated at 60,884 in 2024.^[2] The county seat and the largest city is Fergus Falls.^[3]

Otter Tail County comprises the Fergus Falls micropolitan statistical area. With 1,048, Otter Tail County has more lakes than any other county in the United States.^[4]

Native Americans used the area for hunting and fishing and had permanent dwelling sites. Two Native American tribes were in constant conflict. The Dakota (Sioux) were being pushed from their home area by the Ojibwe (Chippewa) during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Burial mounds and artifacts can still be found. Some of the oldest Native American remains were found near Pelican Rapids, Minnesota. The remains, nicknamed Minnesota Girl, were dated at about 11,000 BC.

The first Europeans to enter the county were French and British fur traders. Efforts were made to set up trading posts on the Leaf Lakes and Otter Tail Lake. In the late 19th century, most of the towns were built along the railroad lines. Lumber and agriculture were the major industries in the county at that time. The pine and hardwood forests, transportation system, and markets were instrumental in the development of Fergus Falls into a lumber center. The Wisconsin Territory was established by the federal government effective July 3, 1836, and existed until its eastern portion was granted statehood (as Wisconsin) in 1848. The federal government set up the Minnesota Territory effective March 3, 1849. The newly organized territorial legislature created nine counties across the territory in October 1849. One of those counties, Dakota, had a section partitioned off in 1851 to create Cass County. On March 18, 1858, the outgoing territorial legislature created Otter Tail County from areas partitioned from Cass and Pembina, another of the original counties created in 1849. The county was named for Otter Tail Lake and the Otter Tail River.^[5] The county was not organized in 1858, nor was a county seat specified. On September 12, 1868, the legislature completed the county organization, and specified Otter Tail City as county seat.

Otter Tail City began as a waystation on a fur-trade route between Saint Paul and the Red River valley. The settlement was of sufficient size that when the Minnesota Territory established a US land office for this part of the territory, the office was sited at Otter Tail City. Thus the city was named as the seat when the county was organized, but people had begun settling the future Fergus Falls area in 1857, and it grew sufficiently that in fall 1872, the vote was taken to move the county seat there.^[6] The Northern Pacific Railroad had initially planned to run a line through Otter Tail City, but complications caused the line to be placed in Fergus Falls, which precipitated the county seat move. The Soo Line later made plans to run a line through Otter Tail City, but when townspeople could not agree on the routing, another route east of the city was constructed. Thus, a new city plat was generated, with the settlement name changing to Ottertail.^[7]

In 1870, the population of the county was about 2,000. At that time, the principal languages spoken in the county were Norwegian, Swedish, German, and English.

The people of Fergus Falls organized a new county named Holcomb. In 1872, a legislative act abolished Holcomb County, added additional townships to the west, and established Fergus Falls as Otter Tail County's seat.

The Fergus Falls Telephone Exchange Company organized on March 20, 1882, and was in a room at the First National Bank at the corner of Cascade and Lincoln. The system install was very crude. Efforts were made to have telephones installed in the courthouse but commissioners deemed it unnecessary. Eventually a telephone was installed in the auditor's office through a combination of private and public funds. A clerk in the office was tasked with tracking down the officer who was called. The business was sold to the Northwestern Telephone Exchange Company in 1883.^[8]

The Otter Tail River flows south and west through the central and western parts of the county on its way to form the Red River in Wilkin County. It is joined by the south-flowing Pelican River west of Fergus Falls. The Leaf River rises in the county and flows east to its confluence with the Crow Wing River in neighboring Wadena County. The Redeye River flows southeast through the county's northeast section toward its confluence with the Leaf in Wadena. The county terrain consists of rolling hills, heavily wooded through its center section, dotted with lakes and ponds, and carved with drainages and gullies. The available area is devoted to agriculture.^[9] The county terrain slopes to the west and south.^[10] The highest points on the county terrain are at two different locations: Inspiration Peak, at 1,727 ft (526 m), and Pekan Peak (unofficial name) a summit northeast of the village of Urbank in Folden Township, Section 32, at 1,800 ft (550 m) above sea level.^[11]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has an area of 2,224.328 square miles (5,760.98 km²), of which 1,971.635 square miles (5,106.51 km²) is land and 252.693 square miles (654.47 km²) (11.36%) is water.^[12] It is Minnesota's 7th-largest county by area.^[13]

Otter Tail is one of 17 Minnesota savanna region counties with more savanna soils than either forest or prairie soils. According to its website, the county contains over 1,000 lakes.

Source:^[9]

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1860	240		—
1870	1,968		720.0%
1880	18,675		848.9%
1890	34,232		83.3%
1900	45,375		32.6%
1910	46,036		1.5%
1920	50,818		10.4%
1930	51,006		0.4%
1940	53,192		4.3%
1950	51,320		−3.5%
1960	48,960		−4.6%
1970	46,097		−5.8%
1980	51,937		12.7%
1990	50,714		−2.4%
2000	57,159		12.7%
2010	57,303		0.3%
2020	60,081		4.8%
2024 (est.)	60,884	[16]	1.3%
U.S. Decennial Census[17] 1790–1960[18] 1900–1990[19] 1990–2000[20] 2010–2020[2]

As of the fourth quarter of 2024, the median home value in Otter Tail County was $270,005.^[21]

As of the 2023 American Community Survey, there are 25,181 estimated households in Otter Tail County with an average of 2.34 persons per household. The county has a median household income of $70,912. Approximately 10.6% of the county's population lives at or below the poverty line. Otter Tail County has an estimated 61.2% employment rate, with 27.4% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 94.0% holding a high school diploma.^[2]

The top five reported ancestries (people were allowed to report up to two ancestries, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were English (95.7%), Spanish (2.5%), Indo-European (1.1%), Asian and Pacific Islander (0.1%), and Other (0.6%).

Otter Tail County, Minnesota – racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.

As of the 2024 estimate, there were 60,884 people and 25,181 households residing in the county. There were 36,922 housing units at an average density of 18.73 per square mile (7.2/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.3% White (92.0% NH White), 1.6% African American, 0.8% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, _% from some other races and 1.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 3.9% of the population.^[27]

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 60,081. The median age was 46.2 years. 21.7% of residents were under the age of 18 and 24.9% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 101.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 100.7 males age 18 and over.^[28][29]

The racial makeup of the county was 91.4% White, 1.4% Black or African American, 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 1.8% from some other race, and 4.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 3.7% of the population.^[29]

22.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 77.9% lived in rural areas.^[30]

There were 25,123 households in the county, of which 24.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 54.3% were married-couple households, 18.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 20.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.^[28]

There were 36,506 housing units, of which 31.2% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 78.2% were owner-occupied and 21.8% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.7%.^[28]

As of the 2010 census, there were 57,303 people, 24,055 households, and _ families residing in the county. The population density was 29.1 inhabitants per square mile (11.2/km²). There were 35,594 housing units at an average density of 18.05 per square mile (7.0/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.12% White, 0.75% African American, 0.49% Native American, 0.47% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.89% from some other races and 1.22% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 2.60% of the population.

As of the 2000 census, there were 57,159 people, 22,671 households, and 15,779 families in the county. The population density was 29.0 inhabitants per square mile (11.2/km²). There were 33,862 housing units at an average density of 17.0 per square mile (6.6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.11% White, 0.29% African American, 0.51% Native American, 0.44% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.84% from some other races and 0.78% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 1.67% of the population.

In terms of ancestry, 35.5% were of German and 31.2% Norwegian.

There were 22,671 households, out of which 30.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.1% were married couples living together, 6.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.4% were non-families. 26.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.98.

The county population contained 24.9% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 24.2% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 19.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 100.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.8 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $35,395, and the median income for a family was $42,740. Males had a median income of $30,151 versus $20,930 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,014. About 6.7% of families and 10.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.1% of those under age 18 and 11.1% of those age 65 or over.

Otter Tail is a Republican stronghold in U.S. presidential elections, having voted for the party's nominees in every election since 1936.^[32] The only Democrats to win the county since Minnesota became a state in 1858 were Franklin D. Roosevelt in his first election victory and William Jennings Bryan in 1896.

During the Great Depression, there was a communist faction within the county. The areas where the movement was centered are quite desolate today, but in mid-1932 over 900 people were involved in one of the state's communist organizations at what was a historic low point for farmers. Party members were very active in the New York Mills area of Newton, Leaf Lake, Blowers, Deer Creek and Paddock Townships. They held meetings, recruited members, placed candidates on local and state tickets, and distributed propaganda. They held dances in Heinola, Menahga, and Sebeka where the Soviet hammer and sickle were proudly displayed and ran a summer camp on East Leaf Lake.^[33]

By the time Roosevelt implemented his New Deal programs in the county, the communist movement began to lose steam. Moreover, the Winter War between Finland and the U.S.S.R. soured many Finnish immigrants on communism (Finns had been a large proportion of the local communists). Carl Peltoniemi, a former local communist, said, "The communist movement within the Finnish community basically ended at the start of the Winter War in 1939–1940."

School districts include:^[34]

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Otter Tail County, Minnesota

• Visit Otter Tail County
• Otter Tail County – official website
• Otter Tail County Historical Society